Surviving Long Distance Relationships

College is a time that is notorious for failed long distance relationships (LDRs). We’ve all heard about them and experienced them in some way or another – whether commuting back and forth between your school and your significant other’s (SO’s) school or supporting your friend after a turkey dump (you know, that awful Thanksgiving breakup that happens when high school sweethearts see each other for the first time since starting college), everyone knows that college is not an ideal time for LDRs. Many people think college LDRs will inevitably end in breakups, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Here are some of the top ways to survive long distance relationships:

• Know that LDRs are hard. They’re really really hard. Prepare yourself to spend some nights crying, having a pit in the bottom of your stomach, and feeling like your heart is constantly breaking. It’s going to be hard – if you go into being apart knowing that it isn’t going to be as fun as being together, you’ll be able to handle it a lot better.
• Be optimistic. Just because making LDRs work is hard, it doesn’t mean it’s impossible. If you keep thinking about the happy parts of your relationship and go day by day, you can definitely do it.
• Support your SO. They’re probably having just as hard a time as you are, so know that as much as you are going to have to lean on them, they’re going to need to lean right back. Always be there to listen to a rant, tell them everything is going to be okay, or just to talk – everyone needs a little extra love once in a while.
• Talk as often as possible. Whether you’re separated by a state or an entire ocean, 200 miles or 7 time zones, it’s always hard to find a good time to talk. You’re always free at different times, you have different obligations, you want to fill your time to distract yourself, etc. Whatever it is, make sure you always make time for the other person; just like you would spend time with them if they were in the same place as you, you should spend time with them now too. Luckily, social media makes this infinitely easier. Viber, Facebook, Skype, WhatsApp, FaceTime, and any other means of communication are all great – mix it up a little bit to change the pace of things. If you texted yesterday, maybe Skype today!
• Remember why you love each other.

Don’t forget: if it wasn’t worth it, you wouldn’t be doing it. But it is worth it, so keep it up. It’s going to be long, it’s going to be hard, but in the end it’s going to be that much more satisfying to be back together.